Leading article: We should be better prepared to deal with such disasters

Haiti is no stranger to natural disasters. But even this benighted land has never experienced a catastrophe on the scale of this week's massive earthquake. The scenes in the Caribbean nation are of colossal devastation and widespread death.

In the aftermath of every earthquake, there is an understandable public fixation on the task of pulling survivors out of the rubble. And that effort is certainly of huge importance, requiring heavy lifting equipment, rescue teams and sniffer dogs.

But just as important – perhaps even more so as the days go by – is the need to provide food, water, shelter, medicine and surgery for those who have survived the quake. Sanitation is of paramount importance. Unless the dead are buried promptly, disease will spread, pushing up the death toll even further. It is estimated that a third of the Haitian population – some three million people – need assistance. And, realistically, they will need it for many months to come.

What this disaster has underlined is our reliance on the efforts of charities and the ad hoc response of governments around the world when it comes to responding to these natural calamities in poor and isolated countries. The likes of Oxfam, Medecins Sans Frontieres and the International Red Cross have, as usual, done an impressive job in responding to the Haitian quake. Luckily, several agencies already had offices and staff in the country when the tremor struck.

And the international governmental response has been prompt too. Nations around the world – including our own – have despatched rescue teams and supplies to the disaster zone. The US, literally, sent the marines yesterday. Global institutions have swung into action too. The World Food Programme plans to supply 15,000 tonnes of food to the survivors. And the World Health Organisation has sent specialists to help clear the streets of corpses.

But co-ordination is inevitably imperfect when so many different parties come together. The response to Haiti's tragedy reinforces the need for a permanent global relief agency, with the infrastructure, bureaucracy and funding in place to respond immediately to natural disasters around the world. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tries its best, but it is essentially reliant on aid pledges from governments for funding. Every time one of these disasters hits, it is forced to appeal for funds. The UN's Central Emergency Response Fund was established in the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunami to solve this problem. But it has not received the funding that it was promised. As we have seen, when disaster strikes, the collection tin still needs to come out.

A new global relief agency would not supplant the existing patchwork of charities and non-governmental organisations. But the work of these organisations would certainly be more effective if they were guided by an overseeing mind.

The world is full of chaotic governments and failed states, unable to provide for their people at the best of times, and doubly helpless in the wake of natural disaster. And this is likely to be a century in which such disasters are more frequent. Scientists predict an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events such as hurricanes and flooding as the climate grows warmer.

Natural disasters provoke feelings of horror and helplessness in us all. Such emotions are inevitable in the face of the sort of carnage on display in Haiti. But though horrified and helpless, we can make ourselves better prepared.